'YEAR OF THE DOG' Cleveland native Molly Shannon talks of new film, life off the set

The 'SNL' alum extols the joys of marriage and motherhood.
By MILAN PAURICH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CLEVELAND -- Even if you somehow managed to miss Molly Shannon during her six-year stint on "Saturday Night Live" (1995-2001), chances are you've seen the Cleveland native in at least one of her scene-stealing television or movie roles.
Although Shannon is best known for her days on "SNL" where she created such memorable characters as excitable Catholic schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher and "licensed joyologist" Helen Madden, the comic chameleon has appeared in films both large ("Talladega Nights," "Analyze This," "The Santa Clause 2") and small ("American Splendor," "Happiness") and on such water-cooler TV shows as "Seinfeld," "Sex and the City," "Will and Grace" and David Lynch's "Twin Peaks."
In her brilliant, career-redefining performance in "Year of the Dog," Shannon plays a thirtysomething lonely heart named Peggy whose placid life spirals out of control when her beloved pet beagle, Pencil, meets an untimely demise. To help fill this aching void, Peggy embarks on a series of misguided adventures, most of which end very badly.
Just how far she's willing to go to make the pain of her loss go away is the stuff of great human drama, and sometimes cringe-inducing farce.
Shannon returned to her hometown last week to do interviews for "Year of the Dog," a film that she freely admits is a "tough sell" for Paramount Vantage, Paramount Pictures' art-house division, which scored a major hit with last year's Best Picture Oscar nominee, "Babel."
Question and answer
Q. Do you think the "Year of the Dog" trailer might be sending out the wrong message by making it seem like a conventional romantic comedy?
A. It's a comedy, but it's a dark and quirky comedy. I think a lot of the quirkiness comes through in the trailer. The studio seems to realize what they have. At least I hope so [laughs].
Q. You previously worked with "Year of the Dog" writer/director Mike White on the short-lived 2004 TV series "Cracking Up." Did this film evolve from that collaboration?
A. The network never gave "Cracking Up" a chance; they got really scared by how dark it was. The whole experience was very difficult for Mike; the network kept making him change things to "lighten" it up. Mike told me, "I want you to have a better work experience. I'm going to write a movie for you." I normally wouldn't have been thought of for this type of role, but it came about so naturally from our friendship. Mike's my dream director because we have the same sense of humor and laugh at the same jokes.
Q. I read that you're allergic to dogs. How did you make it through the six-week shoot?
A. It ended up being fine. In the beginning, I didn't want Mike to worry; I have a much worse allergy to cats. But when Pencil licked my face during one scene, I broke out in hives. There was a lot of hysteria on the set -- "You're allergic to dogs and didn't tell us?!" -- but I went to a doctor who gave me a couple of prescriptions. Luckily, I never had to take any of them.
Q. Did playing an animal rights activist and vegan impact your life in any way?
A. Well, I haven't stop eating meat yet [laughs]. In preparing for the role, I read Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma," which is about corporate farming in America and how hormones are injected into chickens and cows. If I read any more on the subject, I might become a vegan, though.
Q. Critics have described Peter Sarsgaard's character Newt in "Year of the Dog" as everything from "androgynous" to "sexually ambiguous." What was your take on Newt's sexuality? Was his celibacy just an excuse because he wasn't attracted to Peggy?
A. I think Newt is so involved in the dog world that he's ignoring everything else in his life, or just not dealing with it. But I think he probably is gay.
Q. Has becoming a wife and mother changed your perspective on the entertainment industry?
A. Show business is secondary to me now. It's sort of like extra fun in an already very full life. There's still a competitive side of me, but sometimes I just want to memorize my lines and show up. I loved doing "Saturday Night Live"; it was a dream job in so many ways. But around the time I turned 36 I thought, "Wait! I don't want to miss the boat." I lost my mother at an early age and always wanted to be a mom. Leaving "SNL" was tough -- and there was certainly no guarantee that I could ever make the transition into movies. But I'm pleased with how things turned out. While I completely understand that marriage and motherhood isn't for everyone, I feel incredibly fulfilled as both a wife and a mother.
Q. Do you have any aspirations to write your own material like former "SNL" castmate Tina Fey?
A. I can't do what Tina does -- she's a "real" writer. I wrote most of my stuff on "SNL," but I could never write a script on my own. I'd love to collaborate with a screenwriter on a comedy someday, though. Maybe with Tina.
Q. Was there anything from your Cleveland adolescence that went into "Superstar" Mary Katherine Gallagher?
A. Oh, definitely! I went to St. Dominic's in Shaker Heights from first to eighth grade, and Mary Katherine is really just an exaggerated version of how I was back then: the anxiousness, the whole prone-to-accidents thing. I was always breaking things and getting into trouble.
Q. You recently shot a pilot for NBC called "The Mastersons of Manhattan." What's that about?
A. It's a comic soap opera directed by Jim Burrows ["Cheers," "Will and Grace"] about three sisters who come from a prominent New York family. Natasha Richardson plays one of my sisters. We'll know next month whether we get picked up for fall or not.